BENGALURU: Residents of apartment complexes on
Sajjan Rao Road in VV Puram have been getting water contaminated with
E.Coli — a bacteria considered dangerous for human consumption — for the past eight months. What’s worse, the content is 18,000 times the permissible limit, according to a lab test result. The water is not only toxic but also possesses a repulsive odour.
According to residents, sewage water has been leaking from pipes and mixing with clean borewell water, resulting in contamination. Also, irregular cleaning of shoulder drains has caused clogging. Left with no choice, inhabitants have to shell out roughly 30,000 per month to purchase tanker water and drinking water. E.Coli is commonly found in animal and human excreta.
Sanjay Oswal, a businessman who has been living in
Perfecta Classica Apartments for three years, said the contamination started when authorities started digging a borewell right beside the main road, less than 50ft from his residence.
A sample of the borewell water of Perfecta was tested at Public Health Institute, Sampangirama Nagar, in February. The level of most probable number (MPN) of bacteria per 100 ml is 1800 for E.Coli, and the test revealed the sample contained 18,000 times the permissible limit of 0.1 MPN (for drinking water).
“We don’t how they got permission to dig a borewell so close to the main road. While doing so, they damaged the pipes carrying sewage water, causing them to leak. While the borewell has since been closed and is not in use, sewage water overflowing from the old drains is contaminating the water source for borewells in the area. The whole house smells if the taps are opened, and the water, if collected, turns yellow in some time. Complaints to all authorities have gone in vain,” he rued.
“The drainage network and pipes are very old. Earlier, the locality was home to independent houses but now apartment complexes and commercial establishments have come up, which are not able to take the load. Filthy water which has accumulated in old pipes and leaks into groundwater as well. This is resulting in the contamination of borewell water. Tanker water is pumped as soon as the vehicles arrive to prevent mixing,” said
Ashish Bohra, another resident of Perfecta Classica.
Uttam Chand Jain, a resident of Parshwa Apartments down the road, said, “BBMP does not clean the drains regularly. Despite undertaking a massive cleaning drive, they stopped short of our street and didn’t lift the covers,” he claimed. BBMP official Markandaiya dismissed the claim, saying they had been cleaning as and when requested.
No leakage of sewage: BWSSB
BWSSB assistant executive engineer Rajeev J said that there was no problem of leaking or overflowing of sewage from sanitation line. “Whenever we get complaints of the main sanitation line being blocked, we ensure it is unclogged. This may have been happening frequently on Sajjan Rao Road, but there is no leakage. What’s causing contamination of borewell water needs to be ascertained, and I will look into it,” he said, adding that he had been recently transferred to the area.
